Don't laugh. This is as good, and light, as any other puffed grain cereal. (I usually eat two bowls.) Use plain popcorn and really overfill the bowl because it loses a lot of volume when you pour on the milk.

Rebecca said:"Lately, I've been thinking of expanding to other grains - say, hulled barley. Anyone out there have any suggestions?"

Yup. For breakfast (often eaten anywhere between 0800-1200), I eat the same thing, every day: 1/8C or 1/4C each of: rolled oats, rolled rye, ground flaxseed, oat bran, and wheat bran, and 1 small/medium apple, diced (I prefer Granny Smith. YMMV). I put the ingredients into a large bowl, add water to 1/2" above the contents, and microwave for 6-8 minutes. When it's done, I fold-in a heaping tablespoon of fresh-ground peanut butter, and let it sit for a few minutes.

If it's going to be for my evening meal, I'll add 2lbs of chicken gizzards, along with coarsely chopped onions, sliced garlic (lots), and whatever other spices strike my fancy. Cover, set on "Low", and go to work; I return to a home smelling like I belong there.

If it's going to be for breakfast, I generally go sweet, rather than savory -- raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots, etc., together with chopped walnuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Again, cover, set on "Low", and off to dreamland. I'll add some Half 'n Half when I sit down to eat, to cool it some (and in my coffee, too).

Low glycemic index, low glycemic load... both crockpot versions are tasty, and dinner can be vegan w/o losing flavor. The breakfast is especially healthy and flavorful, the combination of soluble and insoluble bran, together with the ground flaxseed really knock-down LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, while raising HDL cholesterol, and you'd be surprised just how filling 1/8C of each ingredient can be! Yeah, it keeps me as regular as a Swiss watch, too.

When I was about 8 years old, I took a course at the public museum about American pioneers. One day, this is what we ate for a snack. They said it was what children got back in the early days in the colonies as treat! Way to bring it into the 21st century...